Recently revisited Typhon’s People and I’ve come to the conclusion that I still love this godawful shirt. 

ROBE

Alfred Molina in Typhon's People

Completely forgot to upload this. I was so (and still is!) enamored of Three Pines. This is what I dubbed as the young Armand Gamache in a previous post.

Also on Dailymotion

I just find it funny how any interaction between Poseidon, Hecate and Athena in smartwatermagic context in my mind always ends up with undertones of all of them thinking "I am a better parent than the other two" without fail

Athena and Poseidon by viria and Hecate by CarolMylius on deviantart

A comprehensive list by one Martin Blackwood regarding his partner and their cat Tiff

(begging you to click for higher quality tumblr wtf)

Like the signs of the cosmic crush of the ice

It’s just better in blood like the surest old sun

Prey-Nightmare

Tales Of Mewni Chapter 146: Clear The Board

Echidna returns, unleashing her last ditch effort against all of Mewni…

Seth-Typhon's role in ancient magic

(This is an adaptation of an essay I wrote for my bachelor, which didn’t get published.)

Seth is not the most prominent or most called upon figure in ancient mediterranian magic, but I do think he’s one of the most interesting. Seth himself can be considered to be a controversial figure, with his fluctuating reputation and trickster nature. The same cannot be said for the Greek titan Typhon, who was viewed as thoroughly negative, being considered one of the most dangerous entities in the cosmos. From 500BC onwards the Greeks identified their Typhon with the Egyptian Seth, and so Seth-Typhon was born. Combined with the declining reputation of Seth, Seth-Typhon was largely viewed as a negative god. At the same time, he was called upon in magic spells for his power and dominion, even being called the ‘God of gods’. So what is Seth-Typhon’s role in magic? And what made him appealing to magicians?

Seth-Typhon’s titles and powers in magical texts At the end of this post I have included some excerpts from the PGM and curse tablets from the Athenian Agora so you can read these for yourself. Seth-Typhon is referred to in a number of in ways, of which these stand out to me:

-Ruler of the realm above -master / lord -God of gods -the ground, sea, Hades, heaven, sun, moon, stars, and the whole universe tremble at his name -whose name forcibly brings gods and daimons to it -when his name is called, whomever you called will appear, god or dead man -who controls the gods’ wrath -who holds the royal scepter over the heavens -who is the midpoint of the stars above -the dreaded sovereign over the firmament -who is fearful, awesome, threatening, irresistible -hater of the wicked -who holds sovereignty over the Moirai [Greek personifications of fate] -capable of binding the ‘Aion of oblivion’ -called upon to ‘chill and destroy’ -Mighty Typhon -‘Lord over blacking out and chilling’ (and sometimes ‘powerlessness’) -taking away strength

Additionally, some other notable details from these texts: -the magician identifies himself as ally of Seth, who helped him ‘in war with/against the gods’ -the magician is ‘conquered’ and ‘thrown down’ by the gods for this. -Seth is capable of raising someone up (who has been thrown down), and granting power. -the victim is ‘handed over’, which seems in parallel to ‘I brought Osiris before you chained’ in the PGM.

There is a lot to unpack here, and I won’t cover everything here. Relevant for this discussion of magic are the following themes: 1) Seth-Typhon as powerful, God of gods, master over the heavens, the whole universe trembling before him. 2) Seth-Typhon as controller of fate. 3) Seth-Typhon as binder of people, spirits and gods. 4) Seth-Typhon as fearful and terrifying, yet awesome and irresistible. 5) the magician identifying as an ally of Seth-Typhon, to gain his favour. Now let’s dive a little deeper into why he is associated with these powers.

Seth-Typhon as the God of gods As mentioned, Seth-Typhon is in some spells considered to be the God of gods. How did he get to be positioned in this role? Partially, this can be explained through the association between him and the Jewish God in the PGM. This association is clear through that Seth-Typhon is being referred to with names as Iao and Saboath, which are also used in reference to the Jewish God. D.R. Jordan mentions a theory that posits that the ancients made a connection between the Greek spelling of Iao and the Coptic spelling for ‘ass’ or donkey, the animal associated with Seth. This identification of Seth-Typhon with the Jewish god is also evident in the use of what Jordan calls ‘the Borphor syllabels’. These are syllables of unknown meaning that consist of a combination of ‘bar’, ‘bor/boor’, and ‘for/foor’, often associated with Hekate/Selene, but also with both Seth-Typhon and the Jewish god. Jordan theorizes that these syllables could represent general ‘outlandish sounds’ or barbaric language to the ancients, which would be fitting to use for deities of a destructive nature because of the connection between foreigners and violence/barbarism that both the Greeks and the Egyptians held. With the Jewish God being the highest possible god, this identification lifts Seth-Typhon up to the same status. This made Seth-Typhon into a much bigger figure of cosmic proportions than he was before. This of course also gives him great powers.

Seth-Typhon’s power and allure to magicians Why was Seth-Typhon attractive for magicians, considering all the other gods connected to magic? This relates back to Seth-Typhon as the God of gods, the highest cosmic entity. Naturally the God of gods holds a lot of power, and this power is attractive for magic practitioners to tap into. There are a number of instances in which the magic practitioner explicitly identifies with Seth-Typhon’s forces in order to persuade him to grant them powers. Specifically there are two prayers to Seth-Typhon in IV 154-285 of the PGM. Here the magic practitioner identifies himself as ‘the one who brought Osiris to you chained’ and as a soldier ‘who sided with you in the war with/against the gods’, among other things. The spell also makes it explicit that this is done in order to ask for help, for it is immediately followed by ‘raise up your friend [the reciter]’. A few lines later, the practitioner pleads: “O grant me power… so that, whensoe’er I tell one of the gods to come, he is seen coming swiftly to me in answer to my chant”. In this passage it’s clear that Seth-Typhon is powerful enough to command all other gods, forcing them to come when called. As ‘God of gods’ he seems to function much like other ‘highest god’ figures, like in the Eight Book of Moses. Like this highest god he is capable of commanding other gods that are considered to be below him in hierarchy.

Besides the PGM we see Seth-Typhon called upon in some curse tablets. Here he is not explicitly called upon as the highest cosmic figure, but does perform the same role of binding and additionally destroying people. He is however called ‘mighty’ and capable of binding the ‘Aion of oblivion’, the same powerful binding role as in the PGM. The curse tablets often start with that the magicians ‘hands over’ the victim to Seth-Typhon. This seems to parallel the identification of the magician as ally of Seth in the PGM;  ‘I am he… who brought Osiris before you chained’. In addition to the role of binder, Seth-Typhon is considered to be capable of taking away the strength of people (though you may see this as a result of binding).

Application of power; binding, restraining, divination Seth-Typhon’s powers then are those of strength, and the binding and controlling of both men and gods that this enables. His power is unparalleled as God of gods. Because of this, Seth-Typhon was also considered to be particularly effective. According to Giulia Sfameni Gasparra, Seth-Typhon was praised for his great cosmic power including his binding and dangerous aspects. Force this reason he is appropriately called upon in spells that seek to bind or destroy their targets, wether they are people (like in the curse tablets) or gods (in the PGM). His power of binding goes so far that he is is invoked a ‘charm to restrain’ in the Paris Papyrus (PGM IV) that ‘works on everything’. This binding power is also useful for divination. The lines IV 154-285 in the Paris Papyrus are a divinatory spell, and the Leiden-London papyri contain a divinatory spell invoking Seth-Typhon as well. Divination in this sense meaning that a spirit is called upon to disclose information to the magician. Additionally, as master of the Moirai, he has knowledge and controle over fate as well (which relates to divination). Perhaps Seth-Typhon's power reaches its peak in another spell from the Paris Papyrus ‘powerful spell of the Bear (a constellation associated with Seth) which ‘accomplishes everything’ (PGM IV 1331-1389). This truly attests to the all-encompassing power of Seth-Typhon.

Conclusions What is Seth-Typhon’s role in ancient magical texts and why is he alluring for magicians? His role seems to be twofold, both relating to his strength and binding. In one way, practitioners call upon his power to bind, weaken, and destroy human targets. This is evident from the curse tablets. In a second but similar way, Seth-Typhon's strength is great enough to bind and control other deities and fate itself. This is not just useful in the binding enemies or gods to make them do your bidding, but also for practicing divination. In these matters the practitioner does not just call upon Seth-Typhon as a strong deity, but as the mightiest, the God of gods, master over the universe and fate. Due to his cosmic power he was also considered to be very effective. We see this in the spells that ‘work on everything’ and ultimately in ‘powerful spell of the Bear which accomplishes everything’. His power is great enough to work on everything and to accomplish everything. Indeed, as D. R. Jordan argues, Seth-Typhon is ‘the deity par excellence in syncretic magical texts’.

Sources: Papyri; the PGM (translation by Betz), Paris Papyrus, and Leiden-London Papyri (I don’t remember which translations I used I apologize).

D.R. Jordan, ‘Defixiones from a Well Near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian Agora’ in Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Jul. - Sep., 1985, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 205-255. Published by: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Giulia Sfameni Gasparra, ‘Egyptian Theological Lore in PGM IV: a religious-historical commentary’ in The Wisdom of Thoth. Magical Texts in Ancient Mediterranean Civilisations, 2015, pp. 111-119. Edited by Grazyna Bakowska-Czerner, Alessandro Roccati, Agata Swierzoska. Published by: Archeopress publishing.

Excerpts:

PGM L 179-200 "O mighty Typhon / I ruler of the realm Above and master, god of gods, O lord ABERAMENTH~OU (formula), O dark's disturber, thunder's bringer, whirlwind, Night-flasher, breather-forth of hot and cold, Shaker of rocks, wall-trembler, boiler of the waves, disturber of the sea's great depth, / ERBET AU TAUI MENI, I'm He who searched with you the whole world and Found great Osiris, whom I brought you chained. I'm he who joined you in war with the gods (but others say, “against the gods"). I'm he who closed heav'n's double gates and put to sleep the serpent which must not be seen, Who stopped the seas, the streams, the river currents Where'er you rule this realm. And as your soldier I have been conquered by the gods, I have Been thrown face down because of empty wrath. Raise up your friend, I beg you, I implore; Thrown me not on the ground, O lord of gods, AEMINAEBAROTHERRETH~RABEANIMEA, O grant me power, I beg, and give to me This favor, so that, whensoc'r I tell One of the gods to come, he is seen coming Switfly to me in answer to my chants, … [l200]

L 218; Lord, god of gods, master, daimon.

L245; But you are not unaware, mighty king and leader of magicians, that this is the chief name of Typhon, at whom the ground, the depths of the sea, Hades, heaven, the sun, the moon, the visible chorus of stars, the whole universe all tremble, the name which, when it is uttered, forcibly brings gods and daimons to it. This is the name that consists of 100 letters. Finally, when you have called, whomever you called will appear, god or dead man

A protective charm: L 261; "I call you who did first control gods' wrath, You who hold royal scepter o'er the heavens, You who are midpoint of the stars above, You, master Typhon, you I call, who are / The dreaded sovereign o'er the firmament. You who are fearful, awesome, threatening, You who're and irresistible And hater of the wicked, you I call, Typhon, in hours unlawful and unmeasured, You who've walked on unquenched, clear-crackling fire, You who are / over snows, below dark ice, You who hold sovereignty over the Moirai [Greek personifications of fate], …”

Jordan’s curse tablets/defixiones: “"('Borphor' syllables) -babaie, mighty Betpyt, I hand over to you Eutychian, whom Euty- chia bore, that you may chill him and his purposes, and in your dark air also those with him. Bind in the unilluminated aion of oblivion and chill and destroy also the wrestling that he is going to do in the . .. this coming Friday. And if he does wrestle, in order that he may fall and disgrace himself, Mozoune Alcheine Perpertharona laia, I hand over to you Euty- chian, whom Eutychia bore. Mighty Typhon Kolchoi Tontonon Seth Sathaoch Ea, Lord Apomx Phriourinx over the blacking out and chilling of Eutychian, whom Eutychia bore, Kolchoicheilops, let Eutychian grow cold and not be strong this coming Friday, but let him be weak. As these names grow cold, so let Eutychian grow cold, whom Eutychia bore, whom Aithales promotes."”

“"('Borphor' syllables) -babaie, mighty Bepty, I hand over to you Attalos ... in the wres- tling . . . completely, but fall, Monoune Alcheine Pepertharona Iaia, I hand over to you Attalos the ephebe, son of Attalos. Mighty Typhon Kolchloi Tontonon Seth Sathaoch Ea, Lord Apomx Phriourinx over blacking out and chilling and powerlessness, Kolchoichei- lops, let Attalos the ephebe grow cold and do not let him wrestle (and come out) first. As these names grow cold, so too let Attalos' name and breath, impulse, knowledge, reckoning grow cold. Let him be deaf, dumb, mindless, having no impulse ... wrestling, not having any strength at all."

Happy blorbo blursday. If your OCs met you what would they do/say? What would you do?

Hi!

Cessair and Nox: oh look. A child is staring at us. *awkwardly waves

Typhon, embarrassed on their behalf: Ignore them please. Hello, how are you? Can we help you with anything?

Me, excited out of my mind: H-hi?

1993

Okay his nose??? The beard??? His eyelashes??? *faints*

In Other Gaming News:

Beat Prey (2017)

I won't say much, of course, but it was a game with heft. Love me a hefty game.

"...why do I find that attractive... no, HOW do I find it attractive?!?"

setting my blog to self-destruct the day the official Borderlands lore book comes out

Listen when people say they want Percy to go on a villain arc most times I see it as they want him to go dark, want him to start murdering, maiming, going full Luke, etc. And I support that. If anyone deserves to kill people it's this kid.

However, let us be realistic for a moment, because I quite like the other alternative. Villain arc Percy usually entails "he's finally had enough of the Gods bullshit & will do things his own way". Let us think on this. What would Percy most likely do in this situation? Would it really be murder right off the bat?

I think he'd be the pettiest, annoying little shit there is. And because one can't usually threaten the Gods in a way that truly matters, but they can make them sweat really hard.

This goes beyond ignoring their calls and leaving them on read. He refuses to give food offerings unless it's the nastiest shit known to man. Bribes the cyclops into hucking huge objects up Mount Olympus before they all scurry off. Finds the olive tree Athena gave to Athens, and while he wouldn't have the heart to destroy it, he'd for sure rip off a branch & mail it to her (Annabeth nearly had to put them in witness protection).

Eventually it gets to the point he has Nico on speed-dial and offers him a shit ton of fast food & a 'get out of Percy's quest bullshit free' pass if he could hop into the Underworld and yoink up some annoying spirits or dead monsters to piss off the Gods. When the Gods get pissed at him Percy just silently pulls out some safe-for-demigods phone like "hang on I wanna see how many happy meals I owe Nico for bringing Typhon back up". They know he is not bluffing.

Could the Gods counteract him? Yeah, sure, Hera gave him amnesia and it was like 90% effective for a while. However, he kind of went off the rails, everyone else went off the rails, and then they had even more Roman nonsense to deal with. If anything it both solved but also made even more problems. And a much angrier Percy. So, frankly, they're very confident it could work, but they're a little worried about what the aftermath would be.

Ares suggests just killing him. Poseidon takes offense to this. Artemis scoffs and says even Ares couldn't beat him. Everyone stops for a moment. The question is not asked verbally. But it is seen in the darting eyes and shifting seats.

Can they kill Percy Jackson?

Well, sure, they must be able to. He's a powerful kid, no doubt, with powerful allies, but they are Gods. Of course they can kill him. So that's not the real question, they wouldn't dare really entertain such a thing to ever confirm if it was true, but this is rather the layer of frosting hiding the real atrocity of a cake underneath it.

What will they lose trying to kill Percy Jackson?

What will remain standing in the face of some 18-year-old who lived one of the hardest knocks of life, loves so much it makes them sick, is so completely unaware of his own strength not even they know its full extent, and currently has absolutely zero fucks to give about the end of a reign longer than he will ever understand?

They decide to quietly shut the lid on that whole fiasco and let Percy do whatever he wants.

Unfortunately, they can't exactly ignore everyone else. And everyone else is who Percy cares about the most. So, think of it more like leaving a grenade in a locked box in the attic. Just hope and pray you've moved out before something gets curious and starts rummaging around up there.